Middle East: Israel says Hamas' armed wing chief killed

What you need to know

• The Israeli military says that it killed a senior Hamas official in Gaza
• Washington and Tehran appeared to be closing in on a deal to end hostilities

Here are the latest developments from across the Middle East on Wednesay, May 27: 

South Korea summons Iranian ambassador over Hormuz ship attack

South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo said on Wednesday that the government had summoned the Iranian ambassador after an investigation into an explosion aboard a Korean shipping vessel earlier this month.

The HMM Namu had been navigating the flashpoint Strait of Hormuz on May 4 when it was struck by a projectile, injuring a crew member.

"Various pieces of evidence point toward Iran," Park was quoted by the Korea Herald as saying, but he stopped short of saying whether he thought it had been a deliberate attack. 

He added that an inquiry had shown that the projectile was an Iranian-developed anti-ship missile.

Park said that Seoul would press Tehran for "responsible measures, including steps to prevent a recurrence."

US cabinet to meet with Iran deal in sight

US President Donald Trump is set to meet with his cabinet on Wednesday, a day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio implied that a ceasefire deal was in sight. Trump has said that an agreement was "largely negotiated" but that the final details remained in flux.

From the Iranian side, the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) told Iranian media that the probability of renewed hostilities was "low."

"The possibility of war is low because of the enemy's weakness, the armed forces are lying in wait with full magazines," said Mohammad Akbarzadeh, deputy political chief of the IRGC Navy.

It remains to be seen if the Trump administration will actually gain anything significant from the deal, as little has moved politically in Tehran and a key part of the deal is reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which would be returning to the status quo from the before the war. 

Israel says new Hamas armed wing chief has been killed

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that the newly appointed chief of Hamas's armed wing had been killed in strikes on Gaza the day before.

Hamas has not confirmed that Mohammad Odeh, whose predecessor had also been killed in Gaza days prior, was deceased. However, a relative told Reuters news agency that he had in fact died.

In a statement on X, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said: "We committed ourselves to eliminating everyone who led the October 7 massacre, and that is what we will do: they are all marked for death, wherever they may be."

Gaza health officials said that at least seven people had been killed and several more were wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza on Tuesday.

Despite a January 2025 ceasefire deal, Israel has carried out sporadic strikes in Gaza over the past year, also accusing Hamas of failing to carry out its promise to fully disarm. Meanwhile, Israel has expanded its campaign against what it says are Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Israel escalates operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon

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Welcome to our coverage

Israeli officials have said that a top Hamas leader was killed in fresh strikes on Gaza, although the militant group has yet to confirm the news.

At the same time, signals from both Iran and the United States indicated that their two-month conflict may be inching towards a peace deal.

Check back here for updates from across the wider Middle East.